Table 4-11: Light Duty Vehicle, Short Wheel Base and Motorcycle Fuel Consumption and Travel
| 1960 | 1965 | 1970 | 1975 | 1980 | 1985 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | (R) 2013 | 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicles registered (thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Light duty vehicles, short wheel base | 61,671 | 75,258 | 89,244 | 106,706 | 121,601 | 127,885 | 133,700 | 128,300 | 126,581 | 127,327 | 127,883 | 128,387 | 129,728 | 129,749 | 131,839 | 132,432 | 133,621 | 137,633 | 135,921 | 135,670 | 136,431 | 136,568 | 135,400 | 196,491 | 196,763 | 193,980 | 190,203 | 183,523 | 183,172 | 184,497 | 187,555 |
| Motorcycles | 574 | 1,382 | 2,824 | 4,964 | 5,694 | 5,444 | 4,259 | 4,177 | 4,065 | 3,978 | 3,757 | 3,897 | 3,872 | 3,826 | 3,879 | 4,152 | 4,346 | 4,903 | 5,004 | 5,370 | 5,768 | 6,227 | 6,679 | 7,138 | 7,753 | 7,930 | 8,010 | 8,438 | 8,455 | 8,405 | 8,418 |
| Vehicle-miles traveled (millions) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Light duty vehicles, short wheel basea | 587,000 | 723,000 | 917,000 | 1,034,000 | 1,112,000 | 1,247,000 | 1,408,000 | 1,358,000 | 1,372,000 | 1,375,000 | 1,406,000 | 1,438,000 | 1,469,854 | 1,502,556 | 1,549,577 | 1,569,100 | 1,600,287 | 1,628,332 | 1,658,474 | 1,672,079 | 1,699,890 | 1,708,421 | 1,690,534 | 2,104,416 | 2,024,757 | 2,015,714 | 2,025,745 | 2,046,282 | 2,062,828 | 2,074,423 | 2,072,071 |
| Motorcycles | U | U | 3,000 | 5,600 | 10,200 | 9,100 | 9,600 | 9,200 | 9,600 | 9,900 | 10,200 | 9,800 | 9,920 | 10,081 | 10,283 | 10,584 | 10,469 | 9,639 | 9,552 | 9,577 | 10,122 | 10,454 | 12,049 | 21,396 | 20,811 | 20,822 | 18,513 | 18,542 | 21,385 | 20,366 | 19,970 |
| Fuel consumed (million gallons) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Light duty vehicles, short wheel basea | 41,171 | 49,723 | 67,819 | 74,140 | 69,982 | 71,518 | 69,568 | 64,317 | 65,436 | 67,048 | 67,874 | 68,072 | 69,221 | 69,892 | 71,695 | 73,283 | 73,065 | 73,559 | 75,471 | 75,455 | 75,402 | 77,418 | 75,009 | 89,577 | 85,589 | 85,658 | 86,789 | 88,359 | 88,600 | 88,611 | 89,301 |
| Motorcycles | U | U | 60 | 113 | 204 | 182 | 191 | 184 | 191 | 198 | 205 | 196 | 198 | 202 | 206 | 212 | 209 | 193 | 191 | 192 | 202 | 189 | 221 | 475 | 489 | 482 | 427 | 426 | 491 | 468 | 459 |
| Average miles traveled per vehicle (thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Light duty vehicles, short wheel basea | 9.5 | 9.6 | 10.3 | 9.7 | 9.1 | 9.8 | 10.5 | 10.6 | 10.8 | 10.8 | 11.0 | 11.2 | 11.3 | 11.6 | 11.8 | 11.8 | 12.0 | 11.8 | 12.2 | 12.3 | 12.5 | 12.5 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 10.3 | 10.4 | 10.7 | 11.2 | 11.3 | 11.2 | 11.0 |
| Motorcycles | U | U | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.4 |
| Average miles traveled per gallon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Light duty vehicles, short wheel basea | 14.3 | 14.5 | 13.5 | 13.9 | 15.9 | 17.4 | 20.2 | 21.1 | 21.0 | 20.5 | 20.7 | 21.1 | 21.2 | 21.5 | 21.6 | 21.4 | 21.9 | 22.1 | 22.0 | 22.2 | 22.5 | 22.1 | 22.5 | 23.5 | 23.7 | 23.5 | 23.3 | 23.2 | 23.3 | 23.4 | 23.2 |
| Motorcycles | U | U | 50.0 | 49.6 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 50.3 | 50.0 | 50.3 | 50.0 | 49.8 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 49.9 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 55.3 | 54.5 | 45.1 | 42.5 | 43.2 | 43.4 | 43.5 | 43.5 | 43.5 | 43.5 |
| Average fuel consumed per vehicle (gallons) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Light duty vehicles, short wheel basea | 667.6 | 660.7 | 759.9 | 694.8 | 575.5 | 559.2 | 520.3 | 501.3 | 516.9 | 526.6 | 530.8 | 530.2 | 533.6 | 538.7 | 543.8 | 553.4 | 546.8 | 534.5 | 555.3 | 556.2 | 552.7 | 566.9 | 554.0 | 455.9 | 435.0 | 441.6 | 456.3 | 481.5 | 483.7 | 480.3 | 476.1 |
| Motorcycles | U | U | 21.2 | 22.8 | 35.8 | 33.4 | 44.8 | 44.1 | 47.0 | 49.8 | 54.6 | 50.3 | 51.2 | 52.7 | 53.0 | 51.0 | 48.2 | 39.4 | 38.2 | 35.7 | 35.1 | 30.4 | 33.1 | 66.5 | 63.1 | 60.8 | 53.3 | 50.5 | 58.1 | 55.6 | 54.5 |
KEY: R = revised; U = data are unavailable.
a 1960 and 1965 data include Motorcycles.
NOTES
Average miles traveled per vehicle, Average miles traveled per gallon, and Average fuel consumed per vehicle are derived by calculation.
Data for 2007-13 was calculated using a new methodology for light duty vehicles and motorcycles developed by FHWA. Data for these years are based on new categories and are not comparable to previous years. The new category Light duty vehicle, short wheel base includes passenger cars, light trucks, vans and sport utility vehicles with a wheelbase (WB) equal to or less than 121 inches. The new category Light duty vehicle, long wheel base is found in table 4-12 and includes large passenger cars, vans, pickup trucks, and sport/utility vehicles with wheelbases (WB) larger than 121 inches. This edition of 4-11 is not comparable to editions from 2009 or earlier.
SOURCES
1960-94: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics Summary to 1995, FHWA-PL-97-009 (Washington, DC: July 1997), tables MV-201 and VM-201A, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/ohpi/hss/hsspubs.cfm as of Mar. 23, 2009.
1995-2014: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual issues), table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/ohpi/hss/hsspubs.cfm as of May 5, 2016.